1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to leakage mitigation of a storage node receiving a signal from at least one imaging pixel, and more particularly to an autonomous leakage mitigation using positive feedback with minimal devices.
2. Description of Related Art
Storage nodes in imaging pixels are susceptible to leakage, particularly when storage capacitance is small and/or under certain conditions, such as when the ambient temperature is high, when the signal integration time is set long, or when the manufacturing process of an associated integrated circuit leads to the creation of devices with smaller off-resistances. Such leakage can increase the likelihood of incorrect output from the storage node.
A variety of systems and devices are known for using a positive feedback circuit in relation to leakage mitigation for a static random access memory (SRAM) device. Many such positive feedback circuits employ two inverters, where each inverter is composed of multiple electrical components. In addition, such positive feedback circuits operate in response to timing controls. Furthermore, such positive feedback circuits are susceptible to inadvertent triggering of the positive feedback circuit due to noise coupling. While use of positive feedback circuits in SRAM devices may not have protection against transient current disruptions as such transient currents may not be troublesome, other types of storage devices may be susceptible to transient current. Such vulnerable storage devices may not operate properly without adequate protection from transient current disruptions.
Such conventional methods and systems have generally been considered satisfactory for their intended purpose. However, leakage mitigation for storage nodes of imaging pixels under conditions such as when the ambient temperature is high, when the signal integration time is set long, or when the manufacturing process of an associated integrated circuit leads to the creation of devices with smaller off-resistances. In addition, there is still a need in the art for leakage mitigation for storage nodes of imaging pixels that does not rely on large storage capacity and that uses few electrical components of minimal size. Furthermore, there is a need in the art for leakage mitigation for storage nodes of imaging pixels that can operate without timing control. In addition, there is a need for improved leakage mitigation for storage nodes of imaging pixels in conditions that are susceptible to noise coupling and transient current disruptions. The present disclosure provides a solution for these problems.